FEMERN, the company overseeing the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Denmark and Germany, has awarded the Sice-Cobra consortium, led by Iberian Electrical Construction Company (Sice), a DKr 4bn ($US 586.5m) design and build contract for the tunnel’s ventilation, lighting and safety systems.
The consortium includes Spanish companies:
- Sice
- Sice Technology and Systems
- Cobra Installations and Services, and
- Moncobra.
Sice-Cobra was awarded the contract under a tendering process which began with prequalification in spring 2021, with three consortia submitting bids in November 2021. Aside from price, energy efficiency was a major criterion for the tender.
Femern says that due to the strong offer from Sice-Cobra, it decided to proceed directly to the contract award process.
Construction of the road and rail tunnel began in November 2021. When completed in 2029, the 18km tunnel between the islands of Lolland in Denmark and Fehmarn in Germany will be the longest immersed tunnel in the world.
Femern issued a prior information notice (PIN) ahead of the launch of a tender next year for the track and catenary systems for the tunnel. The Tunnel Track and Catenary (TTC) tender comprises 25km of double-track railway designed for 200km/h, including 19.7km of slab track in the tunnel and ramps, 3.5km of ballast or slab track on the Danish side, and 2.2km of ballast or slab track on the German side, as well as four crossovers on either side including a point heating system.
An in-depth feature on the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel was published in the October 2021 issue of IRJ, and is available for online subscribers here.
